Just some other notes that might have influenced Sony’s decision (is this OT or what):
On 2/17/09, in the US, analog television (SDTV) comes to an end and all broadcasts must be digital (DTV). Digital is ~NOT~ high definition though (HDTV); HDTV is just a format of DTV. You’ll just need a cheap converter (that the gov’t may even give away) for your old TV. So this change won’t impact anything - it doesn’t force a television upgrade, and I don’t see how this change impacts Sony or has anything to do with PS3 strategy. http://www.dtv.gov/ for more info.
From Sony’s 2006 annual report:
Breakdown of Sony’s 57 billion in sales for (fiscal) 2006:
64%: Electronics (TV’s, Cameras, etc., posted huge losses)
12%: Gaming (PSP, PS2, etc., but lost most of profits due to PS3 development)
9%: Movies
9%: Financial Services
5%: Other
Question to Electronics CEO Ryoji Chubachi: You have said that without a recovery in televisions, Sony’s electronics business will not recover. What specific measures are you implementing to revive the television business?
Answer: In addition to strengthening the Group’s overall performance, we must rebuild our television business.
Question: What can you tell us about the two growth strategies you have referred to as “HD World” and “creating value through new product categories”?
Answer: Sony has an extensive range of highly respected broadcast - and consumer-use high-definition (HD) hardware. The Electronics Revitalization Plan’s first strategy is to further expand our efforts to promote the transition to HD. …we plan to launch our first Blu-ray Disc player in the United States. We expect the Blu-ray Disc format will be a driver of growth for HD-related businesses. Sony is the only company positioned to offer both a broad selection of HD hardware and a large library of HD content. Our goal is thus to grow this HD-related business into a major profit pillar.
So the PS3 being BLU-Ray is all about their Electronics Revitalization initiative to get people buying HD displays. That explains alot. I’m still curious about their BLU-Ray fetish over HD-DVD, but I’m sure the answer is easy enough to find if I’d just look.
And just one more comment in the report for those in the HDTV market:
To promote the development of next-generation display devices, we established the Display Device Development Group. We will focus on self-luminous organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, which deliver high-speed response to moving images and excellent color reproduction and are attracting attention for use in nextgeneration thin displays.
That’s one thing that stands out when browsing the HDTV’s - a lot of motion makes the picture get very blurry on any type screen. So that $3500 dollar Bravia you’re drooling over might be obsolete next year.